Mercedes to show true hand in Australia

It is believed that German manufacturer Mercedes will show their true hand during the opening weekend of the 2017 Formula One World Championship.

With the new regulations for this season the power-unit token system was abolished, enabling teams to come into the new season with brand new engines.

Mercedes and Ferrari have appeared to be on somewhat of a par during the first two winter test sessions, however it is thought that due to reliability issues Mercedes may well have not used their new power-units to their full potential.

According to motorsport.com the new spec power-unit has provided 70 bhp more on the dyno in comparison to last years engine.

That performance was not evident in the Barcelona tests, due to Mercedes working through a crankshaft problem and testing trial experimental parts.

Fears that Mercedes may be conservative and not introduce the new power-unit in Australia have however been cast aside by a high-level source at Mercedes according to the same report.

This means that Mercedes, Williams and Force India will all run the new engines from the start of the new season.